Diaper pants having a waistband that provides softness and skin comfort

ABSTRACT

An absorbent garment that includes a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis. The absorbent garment also includes a front region, a back region and a crotch region, with the crotch region being disposed between the front region and the back region. The crotch region includes an absorbent assembly. The absorbent garment further includes a front panel in the front region, wherein the front panel includes an inner layer, an outer layer and a front longitudinal end; a back panel in the back region, wherein the back panel includes an inner layer, an outer layer and a back longitudinal end. The front panel and the back panel each include a stranded elastic area between their inner and outer layers. The front panel also includes a stretch banded area disposed between the inner and outer layers. The stretch banded area is disposed adjacent the front longitudinal end.

BACKGROUND

Absorbent articles, such as diapers, incontinence garments, trainingpants, sanitary napkins, panty liners, and the like are well known inthe art. These articles, which are often disposable, are capable ofabsorbing and retaining fluids and other bodily discharges. Someabsorbent articles, such as pull-on type absorbent articles, include acentral absorbent member and side panels extending from andinterconnecting respective front and back regions of the absorbentmember forming a waist assembly.

An example of a pull-on absorbent article is a diaper pant; diaper pantsare typically worn by babies who are able to stand up, but who are notyet old enough to be toilet trained. Absorbent articles in the diaperpants format typically include a waist assembly (that includes sidepanels) formed of elastic strands placed between inner and outer layersof a nonwoven material. The elastic strands are typically kept in placeby adhesive. These types of waist assemblies may include 20 to 30high-tension elastic strands that embrace the waist area. The use of theelastic strands in the side panels of the diaper pants allows the sidepanels to be highly elastic and allows for a wide range of body shapesover which the diaper pant may be donned. The elastic side panels alsoprovide a conforming fit for the wearer.

The high waist area of the waist assembly typically gets stretched themost in use in order to conform to the child's belly/abdomen. Ifhigh-tension elastic strands are stretched excessively, they may exert alot of pressure on the skin which could lead to red-marking on the skincaused by the diaper pant. The extended, high waist area of the diaperpant may have a wrinkled appearance in use; the wrinkled appearance maygive an impression of being stuffy and uncomfortable. Further, the knownconstruction of diaper pants does not provide an underwear-likeappearance.

There remains a need for a diaper pant that provides a moreskin-friendly contact in the high waist area. While providing a moreskin-friendly contact, the waist assembly needs to remain verystretchable. There also remains a need for a diaper pant that has fewerwrinkles in the high waist area and, therefore, provides a smoother lookaround the waist. Further, there remains a need for a diaper pant thatprovides a more underwear-like appearance in use.

SUMMARY

Significant improvements in appearance, comfort and fit of diaper pantsmay be achieved using a new construction for the waist assembly of thediaper pant. The waist assembly is typically formed by a front panel anda back panel of the diaper pant. The diaper pants of the inventioninclude a waist assembly having a lower waist area that includesstranded elastics and an upper waist area that includes a discrete,stretch banded area. The stranded elastic area includes an innermaterial and an outer material in between which the elastic strands areplaced. The discrete, stretch banded area is formed by placing astretchable material (that has stretch in at least one direction; forexample, in at least a longitudinal or a lateral direction) against thesame outer material used to form the stranded elastic area and thenfolding the outer material over to cover the other side of the stretchbanded material.

In one aspect, the present invention relates to an absorbent garment,such as a diaper pant (for infants and pre-toilet training toddlers), atraining pant, a youth pant or an adult incontinence pant. The absorbentgarment includes a longitudinal axis and a lateral axis that define thegeneral orientation of the garment. As with known garments, theabsorbent garment of the invention has a front region, a back region anda crotch region; the crotch region is disposed between the front regionand the back region. The distance or orientation from the front regionto the back region defines the longitudinal axis of the garment. Thecrotch region includes an absorbent assembly. The front region of theabsorbent garment includes a front panel; the front panel includes aninner layer, an outer layer and a front longitudinal end. Similarly, theback region of the garment includes a back panel; the back panelincludes an inner layer, an outer layer and a back longitudinal end.Each of the front panel and the back panel include a stranded elasticarea disposed between the inner layer and the outer layer. The strandedelastic area provides general elasticity to the absorbent garment andcontributes to the garment's ability to be pulled upward for donning bythe wearer. The stranded elastic area includes elastic strands, such asare known for use in these types of garments. The elastic strands aregenerally oriented along the lateral axis of the garment. The frontpanel also includes a stretch banded area disposed between the innerlayer and the outer layer. The stretch banded area is disposed adjacentto the longitudinal end of the front panel. The stranded elastic area ofthe front panel is adjacent to, but discrete from the stretch bandedarea. The stranded elastic area is closer to the crotch region than thestretch banded area.

In another aspect of the invention, the absorbent garment defines awaist opening in use that is oriented with the lateral axis of thegarment. The stretch banded area extends perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis of the garment; meaning, the stretch banded areaextends in the direction of the lateral axis and around what is thefront region of the waist opening of the garment. In use, the stretchbanded area forms a soft “waistband” of the garment. In order for thefull circumference of the waist opening to have the “waistband” feature,the back panel includes a stretch banded area disposed between the innerlayer and the outer layer. The stretch banded area is disposed adjacentthe longitudinal end of the back panel. With this execution, the backpanel includes opposed lateral edges and the stretch banded area extendsfrom one lateral edge to the other lateral edge of the back panel.Similarly, the front panel may include opposed lateral edges such thatthe stretch banded area extends from one lateral edge to the otherlateral edge in the front panel.

The stranded elastic areas of the front panel and the back panel mayinclude a plurality of elastic strands disposed perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis. The elastomeric strands may include dry-spuncoalesced multifilament spandex elastomeric strands sold under the tradename LYCRA® and available from Invista of Wichita, Kans., U.S.A. or theymay be constructed from vertical filament laminate (VFL) material. Thestretch banded area may be formed of a stretchable material selectedfrom films, film laminates, spandex laminates, stretch-bonded laminate(SBL), continuous filament stretch-bonded laminates (CFSBL) andsimultaneously aperture and bonded bi-directional elastic laminate(SABBEL).

By providing stretchability to the absorbent garment through thediscrete areas of the stretch banded area and the stranded elastic area,the absorbent garments of the invention are more underwear-like inappearance because they have a noticeable waistband area, likeunderwear. The absorbent garments of the invention also provide a morecomfortable fit for the wearer because the stretch banded area formingthe waistband is softer and better-conforming. The construction andfurther aspects of the absorbent garments of the invention are describedin more detail herein.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be more fully understood, and furtherfeatures will become apparent, when reference is made to the followingdetailed description and the accompanying drawings. The drawings aremerely representative and are not intended to limit the scope of theclaims.

FIG. 1 is a top down view of an absorbent garment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the absorbent garment of FIG. 1, in anassembled condition;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional (prior art) absorbentgarment having the same, general structure as the absorbent garment ofFIG. 1 taken along line “3-3” in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional (prior art) absorbentgarment having the same, general structure as the absorbent garment ofFIG. 1 taken along line “4-4” in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of the assembly of a conventional(prior art) absorbent garment;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of the assembly of an absorbentgarment of the present invention with a film elastic area in each of thefront and back panels;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent garment of FIG. 6taken along line “7-7” in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the absorbent garment of FIG. 6taken along line “8-8” in FIG. 6.

Repeat use of reference characters in the present specification anddrawings is intended to represent the same or analogous features orelements of the present disclosure. The drawings are representationaland are not necessarily drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereofmight be exaggerated, while others might be minimized.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The term “absorbent garment” refers herein to a garment that can beplaced against or in proximity to the body (i.e., contiguous with thebody) of the wearer to absorb and contain various liquid, solid, andsemi-solid exudates discharged from the body. Such absorbent articles,as described herein, are intended to be discarded after a limited periodof use instead of being laundered or otherwise restored for reuse. It isto be understood that the present disclosure is applicable to variousdisposable absorbent garments, including, but not limited to, infantdiaper pants, toilet-training pants, youth pants, swim pants, femininehygiene garments and adult incontinence garments.

The term “bonded” refers herein to the joining, adhering, connecting,attaching, or the like, of two elements. Two elements will be consideredbonded together when they are joined, adhered, connected, attached, orthe like, directly to one another or indirectly to one another, such aswhen each is directly bonded to intermediate elements.

The term “carded web” refers herein to a web containing natural orsynthetic staple fibers typically having fiber lengths less than about100 mm. Bales of staple fibers can undergo an opening process toseparate the fibers that are then sent to a carding process thatseparates and combs the fibers to align them in the machine directionafter which the fibers are deposited onto a moving wire for furtherprocessing. Such webs are usually subjected to some type of bondingprocess such as thermal bonding using heat and/or pressure. In additionto or in lieu thereof, the fibers can be subject to adhesive processesto bind the fibers together such as by the use of powder adhesives. Thecarded web can be subjected to fluid entangling, such ashydroentangling, to further intertwine the fibers and thereby improvethe integrity of the carded web. Carded webs, due to the fiber alignmentin the machine direction, once bonded, will typically have more machinedirection strength than cross machine direction strength.

The term “film” refers herein to a thermoplastic film made using anextrusion and/or forming process, such as a cast film or blown filmextrusion process. The term includes apertured films, slit films, andother porous films that constitute liquid transfer films, as well asfilms that do not transfer fluids, such as, but not limited to, barrierfilms, filled films, breathable films, and oriented films.

The term “liquid impermeable” refers herein to a layer or multi-layerlaminate in which liquid body exudates, such as urine, will not passthrough the layer or laminate, under ordinary use conditions, in adirection generally perpendicular to the plane of the layer or laminateat the point of liquid contact.

The term “liquid permeable” refers herein to any material that is notliquid impermeable.

The term “meltblown” refers herein to fibers formed by extruding amolten thermoplastic material through a plurality of fine, usuallycircular, die capillaries as molten threads or filaments into converginghigh velocity heated gas (e.g., air) streams that attenuate thefilaments of molten thermoplastic material to reduce their diameter,which can be a microfiber diameter. Thereafter, the meltblown fibers arecarried by the high velocity gas stream and are deposited on acollecting surface to form a web of randomly dispersed meltblown fibers.Such a process is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,849,241 toButin et al., which is incorporated herein by reference. Meltblownfibers are microfibers that can be continuous or discontinuous, aregenerally smaller than about 0.6 denier, and can be tacky andself-bonding when deposited onto a collecting surface.

The term “nonwoven” refers herein to materials and webs of material thatare formed without the aid of a textile weaving or knitting process. Thematerials and webs of materials can have a structure of individualfibers, filaments, or threads (collectively referred to as “fibers”)that can be interlaid, but not in an identifiable manner as in a knittedfabric. Nonwoven materials or webs can be formed from many processessuch as, but not limited to, meltblowing processes, spunbondingprocesses, carded web processes, etc.

The term “pliable” refers herein to materials that are compliant andthat will readily conform to the general shape and contours of thewearer's body.

The term “spunbond” refers herein to small diameter fibers that areformed by extruding molten thermoplastic material as filaments from aplurality of fine capillaries of a spinnerette having a circular orother configuration, with the diameter of the extruded filaments thenbeing rapidly reduced by a conventional process such as, for example,eductive drawing, and processes that described in U.S. Pat. No.4,340,563 to Appel et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,692,618 to Dorschner et al.,U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,817 to Matsuki et al., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,338,992 and3,341,394 to Kinney, U.S. Pat. No. 3,502,763 to Hartmann, U.S. Pat. No.3,502,538 to Peterson, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,615 to Dobo et al., eachof which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference. Spunbondfibers are generally continuous and often have average deniers largerthan about 0.3, and in an aspect, between about 0.6, 5 and 10 and about15, 20 and 40. Spunbond fibers are generally not tacky when they aredeposited on a collecting surface.

The term “superabsorbent” refers herein to a water-swellable,water-insoluble organic or inorganic material capable, under the mostfavorable conditions, of absorbing at least about 15 times its weightand, in an aspect, at least about 30 times its weight, in an aqueoussolution containing 0.9 weight percent sodium chloride. Thesuperabsorbent materials can be natural, synthetic and modified naturalpolymers and materials. In addition, the superabsorbent materials can beinorganic materials, such as silica gels, or organic compounds, such ascross-linked polymers.

The term “thermoplastic” refers herein to a polymeric material thatbecomes pliable or moldable above a specific temperature and returns toa solid state upon cooling.

Generally, an absorbent garment having an improved structure isdisclosed herein. The improved structure provides a waistband area thatis part of an overall waist assembly. The absorbent garments of theinvention provide the wearers of the garments with a more comfortablefit because there is less retraction of the elastics in the overallwaist assembly. The absorbent garments of the invention have a novelwaist assembly structure that includes “territorial” elastics.Conventional absorbent garments have waist assemblies that includeeither elastic strands by themselves or elastic strands combined withother elastics, but with the elastic strands used throughout the waistassembly. With the absorbent garments of the invention, the waistassembly includes a stretch banded area that is part of the front panelof the garment and may be part of the back panel, too. The stretchbanded area is adjacent the longitudinal ends of the front panel and theback panel to form a belt-like waistband. By removing the elasticstrands from the longitudinal end area of the front panel, there is lessretraction force-resulting in less force against the wearer's skin and,therefore, a lower likelihood of red-marking of the skin.

With reference to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate one suitableaspect of an absorbent garment of the present disclosure in the form ofa diaper pant, indicated generally at 10. While the present disclosurewill be made in the context of the diaper pant 10, it should beunderstood that aspects of the present disclosure are applicable toother absorbent garments, such as, for example, toilet-training pants,youth pants, swim pants, feminine hygiene garments and adultincontinence garments. As used herein, the term “absorbent garment”refers to garments that absorb and contain body exudates and that areintended to be discarded after a limited period of use. The garments arenot intended to be laundered or otherwise restored for reuse. Putdifferently, the garments are disposable. The garments can be placedagainst or in proximity to the body of a wearer to absorb and containvarious exudates discharged from the body.

FIG. 1 illustrates the diaper pant 10 in an unfolded and laid flatcondition to show an inner surface of the diaper pant that faces thewearer when the diaper pant 10 is worn. The diaper pant 10 has alongitudinal axis (direction) 30 and a lateral axis (direction) 32.Along the longitudinal axis 30, the diaper pant 10 defines a frontregion 12, a back region 14, and a crotch region 16 extending betweenand connecting the front region 12 and the back region 14.

In the front region 12, the diaper pant 10 has a front longitudinal end18 and transversely opposed first and second front side edges 20, 22. Aback longitudinal end 24 and transversely opposed first and second backside edges 26, 28 are located in the back region 14 of the diaper pant10. In the illustrated aspect, the front longitudinal end 18 and theback longitudinal end 24 are straight edges. That is, the frontlongitudinal end 18 and the back longitudinal end 24 are substantiallyfree from curves, bends, angles, notches or irregularities. It isunderstood, however, that the front longitudinal end 18 and/or the backlongitudinal end 24 can be cut in any suitable shape as is known in theart (e.g., arcuate).

The diaper pant 10 includes a central absorbent assembly, indicatedgenerally at 34, that extends longitudinally from the front region 12through the crotch region 16 to the back region 14. The centralabsorbent assembly 34 of the illustrated aspect includes an outer cover42 (shown in FIG. 2) and a bodyside liner 44 connected to the outercover 42 in a superposed relation by suitable means such as adhesives,ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds, pressure bonds, or combinationsthereof. An absorbent structure 46 is disposed between the outer cover42 and the bodyside liner 44.

The front and back regions 12, 14 of the diaper pant 10 include a frontpanel 57 and a back panel, 61, respectively. The front panel 57 and theback panel 61 are interconnected via the absorbent assembly 34. Thefront panel 57 is a laminate or composite of several materials includingan inner layer and an outer layer; the inner layer is closest to theskin of the wearer of the diaper pant 10. The front panel 57 has a frontlongitudinal end 18. Similarly, the back panel 61 is also a laminate orcomposite of several materials including an inner layer and an outerlayer. The back panel 61 has a back longitudinal end 24. Between theinner layer and outer layer of the front panel 57, there is a strandedelastic area and a stretch banded area 36. Between the inner layer andthe outer layer of the back panel 61, there is a stranded elastic area.The stretch banded area 36 of the front panel 57 is disposed adjacentthe front longitudinal end 18. The stranded elastic area in the frontpanel 57 is adjacent to, but discrete from the stretch banded area 36and the stranded elastic area is closer to the crotch region 16 than thestretch banded area 36. The stretch banded area 36 has the appearance ofa waistband, such as would be found on cloth underwear. As shown in FIG.1, the back panel 61 may also have a stretch banded area 38 between theinner layer and the outer layer; the stretch banded area 38 of the backpanel 61 is disposed adjacent the back longitudinal end 24.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front panel 57 includes a pair oflaterally-opposed, front side portions 58 extending outward from thelateral center of the absorbent garment. Likewise, the back panel 61incudes a pair of laterally-opposed, back side portions 62 extendingoutward from the lateral center of the absorbent garment. As shown inFIG. 2, the front panel 57 is joined to the back panel 61 by a pair ofnon-refastenable butt (or fin) seams 40 to define a pull-on, pant-likeconfiguration of the diaper pant 10 having a waist opening, indicated at48, and two leg openings, indicated at 50. More specifically, each frontside portion 58 is joined to a respective back side portion 62 via oneof the non-refastenable butt seams 40.

With the diaper pant 10 in the pull-on, pant-like configuration,illustrated in FIG. 2, the front region 12 includes the portion of thediaper pant 10 that, when worn, is positioned at least in part on thefront of the wearer while the back region 14 includes the portion of thediaper pant 10 that is positioned at least in part on the back of thewearer. The crotch region 16 of the diaper pant 10 includes the portionof the diaper pant 10 that is positioned between the legs of the wearerand covers the lower torso of the wearer. The front and back sideportions 58, 62 include the portions of the diaper pant 10 (and moreparticularly of the front and back regions 12, 14) that, when worn, arepositioned on the hips of the wearer. As shown in FIG. 2, the filmelastic area 36 of the front panel 57 and the film elastic area 38 ofthe back panel 61 cooperatively define the waist opening 48 of thediaper pant 10 that is configured to fully encircle the waist of thewearer.

The central absorbent assembly 34 is configured to contain and/or absorbexudates discharged from the wearer. The outer cover 42 suitablyincludes a material which is substantially liquid impermeable. The outercover 42 can be a single layer of liquid impermeable material, but moresuitably includes a multi-layered laminate structure in which at leastone of the layers is liquid impermeable. For instance, the outer cover42 can include a liquid permeable outer layer and a liquid impermeableinner layer that are suitably joined together by an adhesive, ultrasonicbonding, thermal bonding, pressure bonding, or combinations thereof.Suitable adhesives can be applied continuously or intermittently asbeads, a spray, parallel swirls, or the like. The liquid permeable outerlayer can be any suitable material, including materials that provide agenerally cloth-like texture. The outer layer can also be made of thosematerials of which the liquid permeable bodyside liner 44 is made. Whileit is not a necessity for the outer layer to be liquid permeable, it issuitable that it provides a relatively cloth-like texture to the wearer.

The inner layer of the outer cover 42 can be both liquid and vaporimpermeable, or it can be liquid impermeable and vapor permeable. Theinner layer can be manufactured from a thin plastic film, although otherflexible liquid impermeable materials can also be used. The inner layer,or the liquid impermeable outer cover 42 when a single layer, preventswaste material from wetting articles, such as bed sheets and clothing,as well as the wearer and caregiver.

If the outer cover 42 is a single layer of material, it can be embossedand/or matte finished to provide a more cloth-like appearance. Asearlier mentioned, the liquid impermeable material can permit vapors toescape from the interior of the absorbent garment, while stillpreventing liquids from passing through the outer cover 42. One suitable“breathable” material is composed of a microporous polymer film or anonwoven fabric that has been coated or otherwise treated to impart adesired level of liquid impermeability. It is also contemplated that theouter cover 42 can be stretchable, and more suitably elastic. Inparticular, the outer cover 42 is suitably stretchable and more suitablyelastic in at least the transverse (lateral), or circumferentialdirection of the pant 10. In other aspects the outer cover 42 can bestretchable, and more suitably elastic, in both the transverse (lateral)and the longitudinal direction.

The liquid permeable bodyside liner 44 is illustrated as overlying theouter cover 42 and absorbent structure 46, and can, but need not, havethe same dimensions as the outer cover 42. The bodyside liner 44 issuitably compliant, soft feeling, and non-irritating to the wearer'sskin. The bodyside liner 44 is also sufficiently liquid permeable topermit liquid body exudates to readily penetrate through its thicknessto the absorbent structure 46. Further, the bodyside liner 44 can beless hydrophilic than the absorbent structure 46 to present a relativelydry surface to the wearer and permit liquid to readily penetrate throughits thickness. The hydrophilic/hydrophobic properties can be variedacross the length, width and/or depth of the bodyside liner 44 andabsorbent structure 46 to achieve the desired wetness sensation orleakage performance.

The bodyside liner 44 can be manufactured from a wide selection of webmaterials, such as porous foams, reticulated foams, apertured plasticfilms, woven and nonwoven webs, or a combination of any such materials.For example, the bodyside liner 44 can include a meltblown web, aspunbonded web, or a bonded-carded-web composed of natural fibers,synthetic fibers or combinations thereof. The bodyside liner 44 can becomposed of a substantially hydrophobic material, and the hydrophobicmaterial can optionally be treated with a surfactant or otherwiseprocessed to impart a desired level of wettability and hydrophilicity.The surfactant can be applied by any conventional means, such asspraying, printing, brush coating or the like. The surfactant can beapplied to the entire bodyside liner 44 or can be selectively applied toparticular sections of the bodyside liner 44, such as the medial sectionalong the longitudinal center line.

The bodyside liner 44 can also be stretchable, and, more suitably, itcan be elastomeric. In particular, the bodyside liner 44 is suitablystretchable and more suitably elastomeric in at least the lateral orcircumferential direction 32 of the diaper pant 10. In other aspects,the bodyside liner 44 can be stretchable, and more suitably elastomeric,in both the lateral direction 32 and the longitudinal direction 30.

The absorbent structure 46 is suitably compressible, conformable,non-irritating to a wearer's skin, and capable of absorbing andretaining liquids and certain body wastes. For example, the absorbentstructure 46 can include cellulosic fibers (e.g., wood pulp fibers),other natural fibers, synthetic fibers, woven or nonwoven sheets, scrimnetting or other stabilizing structures, superabsorbent material, bindermaterials, surfactants, selected hydrophobic materials, pigments,lotions, odor control agents or the like, as well as combinationsthereof.

The materials can be formed into a web structure by employing variousconventional methods and techniques. For example, the absorbentstructure 46 can be formed by a dry-forming technique, an air formingtechnique, a wet-forming technique, a foam-forming technique, or thelike, as well as combinations thereof. Furthermore, the absorbentstructure 46 can itself encompass multiple layers in a Z-direction(e.g., thickness) of the absorbent structure 46. Such multiple layerscan take advantage of differences in absorbent capacity, such as byplacing a lower absorbent capacity material layer closer to the bodysideliner 44 and a higher absorbent capacity material closer to the outercover 42. Likewise, discrete portions of a single-layered absorbentstructure can encompass higher capacity absorbents, and other discreteportions of the structure can encompass lower capacity absorbents.

Superabsorbent material is suitably present in the absorbent structure46 in an amount of from about 0 to about 100 weight percent based ontotal weight of the absorbent structure 46. The absorbent structure 46can suitably have a density within the range of about 0.10 to about 0.60grams per cubic centimeter. Superabsorbent materials are well known inthe art and can be selected from natural, synthetic, and modifiednatural polymers and materials. The superabsorbent materials can beinorganic materials, such as silica gels, or organic compounds, such ascrosslinked polymers. Typically, a superabsorbent material is capable ofabsorbing at least about 10 times its weight in liquid, and preferablyis capable of absorbing more than about 25 times its weight in liquid.

The absorbent structure 46 can alternatively include a coform material.The term “coform material” generally refers to composite materialsincluding a mixture or stabilized matrix of thermoplastic fibers and asecond non-thermoplastic material. As an example, coform materials aremade by a process in which at least one meltblown die head is arrangednear a chute through which other materials are added to the web while itis forming. Such other materials can include, but are not limited to,fibrous organic materials such as woody or non-woody pulp such ascotton, rayon, recycled paper, pulp fluff and also superabsorbentparticles, inorganic absorbent materials, treated polymeric staplefibers and the like. Any of a variety of synthetic polymers can beutilized as the melt-spun component of the coform material. Forinstance, in certain aspects, thermoplastic polymers can be utilized.Some examples of suitable thermoplastics that can be utilized includepolyolefins, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutylene and thelike; polyamides; and polyesters. In one aspect, the thermoplasticpolymer is polypropylene.

In one suitable aspect, the absorbent structure 46 is stretchable so asnot to inhibit the stretchability of other components to which theabsorbent structure can be adhered, such as the outer cover 42 and thebodyside liner 44. After being formed or cut to a desired shape, theabsorbent structure 46 can be wrapped or encompassed by a suitable wrap(not shown) that aids in maintaining the integrity and shape of theabsorbent structure 46.

The absorbent assembly 34 can also include a surge management layer (notshown) located adjacent the absorbent structure 46 (e.g., between theabsorbent structure 46 and the bodyside liner 44) to help decelerate anddiffuse surges or gushes of liquid that can be rapidly introduced intothe absorbent structure 46 of the diaper pant 10 by the wearer.Desirably, the surge management layer can rapidly accept and temporarilyhold the liquid prior to releasing the liquid into the storage orretention portions of the absorbent structure 46. Examples of suitablesurge management layers are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,486,166 issuedJan. 23, 1996 to Bishop et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,846 issued Feb. 13,1996 to Ellis et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,973 issued Oct. 13, 1998to Dodge, II et al., the entire disclosures of which are herebyincorporated by reference.

The absorbent assembly 34 can also include a pair of containment flaps(not shown) that extend longitudinally along the absorbent assembly 34and are adapted to provide a barrier to the lateral flow of bodyexudates as is known in the art. The containment flaps can be connectedto the bodyside liner 44 or other components of the absorbent assembly34. Suitable configurations of the containment flaps are described, forexample, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,599,338 issued Feb. 4, 1997, to K. Enloe,the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

With reference to FIG. 3, the structure used to form the front panel 57in a prior art absorbent garment includes a multi-layer constructionincluding an inner or body-facing layer 66, an outer or garment-facinglayer 68, and an elastic layer 70 disposed between the inner layer 66and the outer layer 68. The inner layer 66 and the outer layer 68 eachinclude, respectively, a body-facing side 72, 74 and a garment-facingside 76, 78. The garment-facing side 76 of the inner layer 66 isconnected to the body-facing side 74 of the outer layer 68 by suitablemeans such as adhesives, ultrasonic bonds, thermal bonds, pressurebonds, or combinations thereof. In the illustrated aspect, an upperportion 69 of the outer layer 68 is folded over a top edge 67 of theinner layer 66. The upper portion 69 is connected to the body-facingside 72 of the inner layer 66 to close the top edge 49 of the waistopening 48 (FIG. 2), and enclose the elastic layer 70 between the innerlayer 66 and the outer layer 68.

The inner layer 66 is typically constructed from a non-aperturednonwoven material. Suitable nonwovens include single layer nonwovens,such as spunbond webs, and nonwoven laminates. In one suitable aspect,the inner layer 66 includes a spunbond/spunbond/spunbond (“SSS”)laminate. In another suitable aspect, the inner layer 66 includes atleast one meltblown layer positioned between two or more spunbond layersto form a spunbond/meltblown/spunbond (“SMS”) laminate. In oneparticular aspect, the inner layer 66 includes aspunbond/spunbond/meltblown/meltblown/spunbond laminate (“SSMMS”). Thenonwoven laminate can have other configurations and possess any desirednumber of meltblown and spunbond layers, such asspunbond/meltblown/meltblown/spunbond laminates (“SMMS”),spunbond/meltblown laminates (“SM”), etc. In addition to or as analternative to meltblown and spunbond webs, a variety of other nonwovenwebs can also be used to form the inner layer 66 including, for exampleand without limitation, through-air bonded carded webs, thermally bondedcarded webs, wet-laid webs, coform webs, and hydraulically entangledwebs.

The inner layer 66 may be liquid-impermeable and vapor permeable. Thatis, the inner layer 66 permits vapors to escape from the interior of theabsorbent garment, while still preventing liquids from passing throughthe inner layer 66. The inner layer 66 can be treated or otherwiseprocessed to impart a desired level of liquid impermeability to theinner layer 66.

The elastic layer 70 is attached to at least one of the inner layer 66and the outer layer 68 to impart a desired level of elasticity to thefront panel 57. The elastic layer 70 may be attached to the inner layer66 and/or the outer layer 68 by any suitable means including, forexample, adhesives. The elastic layer 70 may be stretched and thenadhered to one or both of the inner layer 66 and the outer layer 68, oradhered to one or both of the inner layer 66 and the outer layer 68 whenthe layers 66, 68 are in a gathered state to impart a desired level ofelasticity to the front panel 57. In other aspects, the elastic layer 70may be adhered to one or both of the inner layer 66 and the outer layer68, and then elasticized or shrunk, for example with the application ofheat, such that elastic retractive forces are imparted to the frontpanel 57.

The elastic layer 70 may be formed of a variety of suitable elasticmaterials, including strands or ribbons of natural rubber, syntheticrubber, or thermoplastic elastomeric polymers. In the aspect shown inFIG. 3, the elastic layer 70 includes a plurality of elastomeric strands80 extending in the lateral direction 32 (FIG. 1) or circumferentialdirection (FIG. 2) of the diaper pant 10. In one suitable aspect, theelastomeric strands 80 include dry-spun coalesced multifilament spandexelastomeric strands sold under the trade name LYCRA® and available fromInvista of Wichita, Kans., U.S.A. Other suitable materials from whichthe elastic layer 70 may be constructed include vertical filamentlaminate (VFL) materials, an example of which is described in U.S. Pat.No. 6,916,750 to Thomas et al., which is hereby incorporated byreference.

The outer layer 68 is vapor permeable, and may be liquid permeable orliquid impermeable. The outer layer 68 may be constructed from anapertured nonwoven, such as a single layer nonwoven or a nonwovenlaminate. In one suitable aspect, the outer layer 68 includes aspunbond/spunbond/spunbond (“SSS”) laminate. In another suitable aspect,the outer layer 68 includes at least one meltblown layer positionedbetween two or more spunbond layers to form aspunbond/meltblown/spunbond (“SMS”) laminate. In one aspect, the outerlayer 68 includes a spunbond/spunbond/meltblown/meltblown/spunbondlaminate (“SSMMS”). The nonwoven laminate can have other configurationsand possess any desired number of meltblown and spunbond layers, such asspunbond/meltblown/meltblown/spunbond laminates (“SMMS”),spunbond/meltblown laminates (“SM”), etc. In addition to or as analternative to meltblown and spunbond webs, a variety of other nonwovenwebs can also be used to form the outer layer 68 including, for exampleand without limitation, through-air bonded carded webs, thermally bondedcarded webs, wet-laid webs, coform webs, and hydraulically entangledwebs.

The inner layer 66 and the outer layer 68 are joined together inface-to-face relationship by suitable means such as adhesives,ultrasonic bonding, thermal bonding, pressure bonding, or combinationsthereof. Suitable adhesives, which can be applied continuously orintermittently as beads, a spray, parallel swirls, or the like, includeelastomeric adhesives (i.e. materials capable of at least 75% elongationwithout rupture), such as aqueous-based styrene butadiene adhesives,neoprene, polyvinyl chloride, vinyl copolymers, polyamides, and ethylenevinyl terpolymers.

Referring to FIG. 4, the structure used to form the back panel 61 of aprior art absorbent garment has the same construction and configurationas the front panel 57. That is, the back panel 61 includes a multi-layerconstruction including an inner or body-facing layer 82, an outer orgarment-facing layer 84, and an elastic layer 86 disposed between theinner layer 82 and the outer layer 84. The inner layer 82 and the outerlayer 84 each include, respectively, a body-facing side 88, 90 and agarment-facing side 92, 94. In the aspect illustrated in FIG. 4, anupper portion 89 of the outer layer 84 is folded over a top edge 87 ofthe inner layer 82. The upper portion 89 is connected to the body-facingside 88 of the inner layer 82 to close the top edge 49 of the waistopening 48 (FIG. 2), and enclose the elastic layer 86 between the innerlayer 82 and the outer layer 84. The layers 82, 84 and 86 of the backpanel 61 may be constructed of the same materials as the layers 66, 68and 70 of the front panel 57 described above with reference to FIG. 3.

FIGS. 6-8 illustrate aspects of the present invention. As illustrated inFIGS. 6-8, the absorbent garment 10 includes a front panel 157 in thefront region 12 and a back panel 161 in the back region 14. The frontpanel 157 includes an inner layer 166, an outer layer 168, a stretchbanded area 136 and a stranded elastic layer 170 that includeselastomeric strands 180. The back panel 161 includes an inner layer 182,an outer layer 184, a stretch banded area 138 and an elastic layer 186that can include elastomeric strands 180. The inner layers 166, 182 areaffixed to the outer layers 168, 184, respectively, with the stretchbanded areas 136, 138 and the elastic layers 170,186 sandwichedtherebetween. These are typically affixed to each other with adhesive,although any suitable attachment means can be used. Strands 180 aretypically disposed generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis andgenerally parallel to the lateral axis. As shown in FIG. 7, an upperportion 169 of the outer layer 168 is folded over the stretch bandedarea 136. As shown in FIG. 8, an upper portion 189 of the outer layer184 is folded over the stretch banded area 138. The stretch banded areas136, 138 may be formed of films, film laminates and apertured elasticfilms, examples of which are described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,803,244 issuedSep. 28, 2010 to Siqueira et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 8,361,913 issuedJan. 29, 2013 to Siqueira et al., both of which are hereby incorporatedby reference, and other elastic laminates such as single- and dual-facedspandex laminates, stretch-bonded laminates (SBL), and continuousfilament stretch-bonded laminates (CFSBL), simultaneously aperture andbonded bi-directional elastic laminate (SABBEL), examples of which aredescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,775 issued Jan. 31, 1995 to Wright;U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,024 issued May 2, 2000 to Mleziva et al.; and U.S.Pat. No. 6,969,441 issued Nov. 29, 2005 to Welch et al., all of whichare hereby incorporated by reference. The elastomeric strands 180 may beformed of the same materials as described previously herein forelastomeric strands 80. The elastic materials can be stretched andbonded to a substrate, bonded to a gathered substrate, or bonded to asubstrate and then elasticized or shrunk, for example, with theapplication of heat, such that elastic retractive forces are imparted tothe substrate.

FIGS. 5-8 schematically illustrate the general arrangement of componentsin the absorbent garments 10. FIGS. 5 and 6 are simplified todemonstrate the concept and do not include various elements of theabsorbent garments 10. FIG. 5 illustrates the arrangement of elements ina conventional absorbent garment, diaper pant 10. Outer layers 68, 84are added to inner layers 66, 82 (along with elastics and adhesive, notshown) to form front and back panels 57, 61. The front and back panels57, 61 are then affixed to a central absorbent assembly 34 to form thediaper pant 10. The upper portion 69 is folded over the inner layer 66,as is the upper portion 89 folded over the inner layer 82. The centralabsorbent assembly 34 includes the other components of a bodyside liner44, absorbent structure 46 and outer cover 42 as described herein. Crosssections of conventional panels 57, 61 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4,respectively.

FIG. 6 illustrates the arrangement of elements in the absorbent garment,a diaper pant 10 of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 6-8, both of thefront and back panels 157, 161 are substituted for the respective frontand back panels 57, 61 of the absorbent article 10 of FIGS. 3-5. Outerlayers 168, 184 are added to the combination of stretch banded areas136,138 and inner layers 166, 182, respectively, to form front and backpanels 157, 161. The inner layers 166, 182 include stranded elasticareas that are not shown in FIG. 6. The upper portion 169 is folded overthe stretch banded area 136, as is the upper portion 189 folded over thestretch banded area 138. The front and back panels 157, 161 are thenaffixed to a central absorbent assembly 34 to form the diaper pant 10.The central absorbent assembly 34 includes the other components of abodyside liner 44, absorbent structure 46 and outer cover 42 asdescribed herein. Cross sections of front and back panels 157, 161 ofthe present disclosure are illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8. Again, one orboth of the front and back panels 157, 161 illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8may be used to form a diaper pant 10 of the invention. If only the frontpanel 157 (including stretch banded area 136) is used to form the diaperpant 10, the structure shown in FIG. 7 is present and the back panel 161will remain as illustrated in FIG. 4. The stretch banded area 136 isdisposed adjacent the longitudinal end 18 of the front panel 157 and thestranded elastic area 170 is adjacent and discrete from the stretchbanded area 136. The stranded elastic area 170 is closer to the crotchregion than the stretch banded area 136. When the back panel 161 alsoincludes the stretch banded area 138 (as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8),the stretch banded area 138 is disposed adjacent the longitudinal end 24of the back panel 161 and the stranded elastic area 186 is adjacent anddiscrete from the stretch banded area 138. The stranded elastic area 186is closer to the crotch region than the stretch banded area 138.

In the interests of brevity and conciseness, any ranges of values setforth in this disclosure contemplate all values within the range and areto be construed as support for claims reciting any sub-ranges havingendpoints that are whole number values within the specified range inquestion. By way of hypothetical example, a disclosure of a range offrom 1 to 5 shall be considered to support claims to any of thefollowing ranges: 1 to 5; 1 to 4; 1 to 3; 1 to 2; 2 to 5; 2 to 4; 2 to3; 3 to 5; 3 to 4; and 4 to 5.

The dimensions and values disclosed herein are not to be understood asbeing strictly limited to the exact numerical values recited. Instead,unless otherwise specified, each such dimension is intended to mean boththe recited value and a functionally equivalent range surrounding thatvalue. For example, a dimension disclosed as “40 mm” is intended to mean“about 40 mm.”

All documents cited in the Detailed Description are, in relevant part,incorporated herein by reference; the citation of any document is not tobe construed as an admission that it is prior art with respect to thepresent disclosure. To the extent that any meaning or definition of aterm in this written document conflicts with any meaning or definitionof the term in a document incorporated by references, the meaning ordefinition assigned to the term in this written document shall govern.

While particular aspects of the present disclosure have been illustratedand described, it would be obvious to those skilled in the art thatvarious other changes and modifications can be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure. It is therefore intended tocover in the appended claims all such changes and modifications that arewithin the scope of this disclosure.

We claim:
 1. An absorbent garment comprising: a longitudinal axis and alateral axis; a front region, a back region, a crotch region, the crotchregion being disposed between the front region and the back region, andthe crotch region including an absorbent assembly; a front panel in thefront region, wherein the front panel includes an inner layer, an outerlayer and a front longitudinal end; a back panel in the back region,wherein the back panel includes an inner layer, an outer layer and aback longitudinal end; a stranded elastic area disposed between theinner layer and the outer layer in the front panel and in the backpanel; and a stretch banded area disposed between the inner layer andthe outer layer in the front panel, wherein the stretch banded area isdisposed adjacent the longitudinal end of the front panel and whereinthe stranded elastic area is adjacent and discrete from the stretchbanded area and the stranded elastic area is closer to the crotch regionthan the stretch banded area.
 2. The garment of claim 1, wherein thestretch banded area extends perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis. 3.The garment of claim 1, further including a stretch banded area disposedbetween the inner layer and the outer layer in the back panel, whereinthe stretch banded area is disposed adjacent the longitudinal end of theback panel.
 4. The garment of claim 3, wherein the back panel includesopposed lateral edges, and wherein the stretch banded area in the backpanel extends from one lateral edge to the other lateral edge.
 5. Thegarment of claim 1, wherein the front panel includes opposed lateraledges, and wherein the stretch banded area in the front panel extendsfrom one lateral edge to the other lateral edge.
 6. The garment of claim1, wherein the stranded elastic area in the front panel includes aplurality of elastic strands that are disposed perpendicularly to thelongitudinal axis.
 7. The garment of claim 1, wherein the strandedelastic area in the back panel includes a plurality of elastic strandsthat are disposed perpendicularly to the longitudinal axis.
 8. Thegarment of claim 1, wherein the stretch banded area is formed of amaterial selected from films, laminated films, spandex laminates,stretch-bonded laminate (SBL), continuous filament stretch-bondedlaminates (CFSBL) and simultaneously aperture and bonded bi-directionalelastic laminate (SABBEL).